Sharks notebook: Kings sensed Sharks were feeling pressure

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San Jose Sharks’ Antti Niemi (31) blocks a shot against Los Angeles Kings’ in the first period during Game 7 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, April 30, 2014. (Josie Lepe/Bay Area News Group)

The Kings dominated the final four games, outscoring the Sharks 18-5. They got clutch goals from their frontline players, smothered the Sharks’ primary scorers, killed off penalty after penalty and got stellar goaltending from Jonathan Quick.

“It wasn’t one thing,” forward Justin Williams said. “It was mostly attitude. We were responsible for our own demise. We had nowhere to look but in the mirror.”

Doughty called the historic comeback an “unbelievable feeling” and credited general manager Dean Lombardi for putting together a roster full of gritty players.

“We’ve got a lot of heart; the guys want to win,” he said. “That’s how Dean built the team, and it showed.”

Coach Darryl Sutter wasn’t quite as effusive about coming back from the three-games-to-none deficit.

“The history part is no big deal,” he said. “We’re trying to win a series against a team that had home ice and was ahead of us all year — and we finally caught them.”

Goaltender Antti Niemi was back in net for the Sharks after a one-game benching.

Coach Todd McLellan made the decision before the morning skate to use Niemi instead of Alex Stalock, who started Game 6.

The Sharks “needed a change heading into Game 6,” McLellan said.

“I think a break was good for Nemo. He got a chance to work on some things in his game. … He got a little chance to rest.”

Marc-Edouard Vlasic, the Sharks’ top defenseman, remained out because of a head injury suffered in Game 5. The Kings were without defenseman Willie Mitchell, injured in Game 6.

Jon Wilner has been covering college sports for decades and is an AP top-25 football and basketball voter as well as a Heisman Trophy voter. He was named Beat Writer of the Year in 2013 by the Football Writers Association of America for his coverage of the Pac-12, won first place for feature writing in 2016 in the Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest and is a five-time APSE honoree.